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If you're going to do a drain and fill, why wouldn't you also replace the filter? Sort of like changing your engine oil and leaving the old filter in place.

Yah, if I go ahead with the drain and fill I will definitely change the filter.
I am just concerned about opening the perfectly working transmission, as plenty of horror stories of transmission going kaput after the fluid/filter change.

However, almost everyone is going to do just a single drain/fill, which will get about 2/3 of our fluid replaced. Even for the most diehard folks, it doesn't make any sense to do more than 2 drain/fills.

Well, I'm far from diehard, but I did 3 changes. I reckon the third change from 86% to 96% is significant, but the 4th only improves 2% and it is not worth it. 3 changes (18qts) are preferred DIY method.

... I am just concerned about opening the perfectly working transmission, as plenty of horror stories of transmission going kaput after the fluid/filter change.

[start contrarian thought for the day]

Yeh, understand that, but you know .... show me someone who changed their fluid and filter and had an issue. I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but I wonder if it hasn't become almost a wives tale, so to speak. In the several years on this discussion, I don't recall anyone changing their fluid after 100K and posting that their transmission failed. While wives tales have some basis in reality, they can sometimes get blown out of proportion over time.

I had a torque converter failure about 2 1/2 years ago. Took out the front pump when it failed at 58,000 miles. I rebuilt the ZF box myself and used Valvoline Max Life Mercon VI fluid. I now have 75,000 total miles on the car without any problems. I plan to change the fluid and filter again at 80,000 miles. This will put my first change at 22,000 miles. I do not expect any further problems with this issue. The torque converter failure was an oddball occurrence and after talking to many transmission techs, no one had ever seen one do what mine did. The stub that drives the front pump swelled and took out the seal ring, ruining the pump. Everything inside miked standard, even the drive and driven clutches. There was no wear or stress evident on the reverse drum either. My car was built on March 29, 2000, so it already had all the upgrades that were not on the early versions. Go ahead and drain and change the filter. DO NOT FLUSH THE TRANSMISSION EVER!!!!!!!!!

I had a torque converter failure about 2 1/2 years ago. Took out the front pump when it failed at 58,000 miles. I rebuilt the ZF box myself and used Valvoline Max Life Mercon VI fluid. I now have 75,000 total miles on the car without any problems. I plan to change the fluid and filter again at 80,000 miles. This will put my first change at 22,000 miles. I do not expect any further problems with this issue. The torque converter failure was an oddball occurrence and after talking to many transmission techs, no one had ever seen one do what mine did. The stub that drives the front pump swelled and took out the seal ring, ruining the pump. Everything inside miked standard, even the drive and driven clutches. There was no wear or stress evident on the reverse drum either. My car was built on March 29, 2000, so it already had all the upgrades that were not on the early versions. Go ahead and drain and change the filter. DO NOT FLUSH THE TRANSMISSION EVER!!!!!!!!!

Do not flush the transmission ever? What do you mean? Because how else can you get most of the old atf out?
By the way, how can I know what tranny I've got, ZF or GM? I've got a 1999 323i made in march 1999
Best regards
Rod

Do not flush the transmission ever? What do you mean? Because how else can you get most of the old atf out?
By the way, how can I know what tranny I've got, ZF or GM? I've got a 1999 323i made in march 1999

You have a GM transmission. People usually do not flush the tranny because the fluid is too expensive (if you used the original stuff) and not needed.

The GM A5S360R transmission was used in the 323i from 7/98 thru 3/2000, which is spec'd for Texaco ETL 7045E fluid.

You can confirm this by the label on the transmission pan. See this for more info.

Thanks to both of you for the info, it's good to know that at least my car doesn't have the dreaded no-reverse issue although it's still not immune to "issues"; the reverse solenoid can fail. I'm just in the process of changing my tranny oil, I got the filter, gasket and 10 quarts of "Pentosin" synthetic. I can't find many quotes on Pentosin tranny oil here but from the research I've done it looks like it's spot on as the correct oil for my car's GM tranny. 10 quarts isn't enough oil for a flush and refill, I think I need at least two quarts more with no margin for error. Perhaps I should buy another 5 quart container from the same seller.
I am afraid of the oil change, I must admit it, although thanks to this place I understand it's the best thing I can do for my tranny. It's not giving ANY trouble at all, Works fine but I know it's never been changed. My 1999 323i has 108K miles and it's all in excellent condition.

Just did the tranny fluid and filter change last weekend with the ECS Tuning Kit. Green paper gasket, Redline D4 ATF fluid, and 5 new bolts that I ordered just in case I had an issue with a few of the old ones.
I was getting an occasional limp mode error light and a fault code. After 600 miles this week no limp modes and no fault codes .
Wish I would have checked first, but the ECS Kit filter was not OEM, it's better than nothing. I'm going genuine filter on the next change with ZF lifeguard oil.
My car has 140,000, but apparently the tranny was replaced around 90,000 according to ZF. I had emailed them the serial number and they replied that the tranny was last at their Germany facility in 06, so the previous OP must have had to replace it. They recommended filter and change @ 50-60,000 miles. Going to try and do it again in 5,000 miles to get more of the old fluid out. It was black, but actually smelled better than the Redline.
My only advise is to have a 40lb bag of absorbent kitty litter around just in case....and check your Fill Plug is not jammed before you start.

Just did the tranny fluid and filter change last weekend with the ECS Tuning Kit. Green paper gasket, Redline D4 ATF fluid, and 5 new bolts that I ordered just in case I had an issue with a few of the old ones.
I was getting an occasional limp mode error light and a fault code. After 600 miles this week no limp modes and no fault codes .
Wish I would have checked first, but the ECS Kit filter was not OEM, it's better than nothing. I'm going genuine filter on the next change with ZF lifeguard oil.
My car has 140,000, but apparently the tranny was replaced around 90,000 according to ZF. I had emailed them the serial number and they replied that the tranny was last at their Germany facility in 06, so the previous OP must have had to replace it. They recommended filter and change @ 50-60,000 miles. Going to try and do it again in 5,000 miles to get more of the old fluid out. It was black, but actually smelled better than the Redline.
My only advise is to have a 40lb bag of absorbent kitty litter around just in case....and check your Fill Plug is not jammed before you start.

You can get oem ZF parts and fluid at http://www.thectsc.com/ I've found their prices to be the best. The Filter comes directly from ZF too.

Put the car on stands and make sure the car is level. The space to access the fill plug is tight so I needed an L shaped allen wrench. Be sure the wrench is all the way into the fill plug before turning. Mine was not and I ended up stripping the wrench opening. Had to use a wedge and hammer to force the allen wrench into the plug. It worked but I decided to order a new fill plug, drain plug and pan screws (there are 22 of them) at the same time. $77!! for screws!! From there it was easy. Drain (about 1.5 gallons), take the pan off, clean out the magnets, replace the filter, drain plug, and pan. I used a cheap hand pump from HFT to pump in new fluid until it flowed out of the fill hole. Start the car, cycle through all gears, and pump more fluid in until it flows out of the fill hole. I didn't have a thermometer but I remember reading that when the pan is hot to the touch, it's about right. In the end I put in about 5.7 liters of ZF fluid. I plan to do this every 75K miles.